Washington, D.C. ? The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in two months.

The unexpected spike was blamed on the Easter holiday rather than fundamental labor market weakness.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits totaled 342,000 last week, up 19,000 from the previous week.

The increase, which followed a rise of 13,000 the previous week, was much larger than forecast and pushed total claims to the highest level since the week of Feb. 10.

But analysts attributed the surge to problems in adjusting the data for changes in layoff patterns that reflect different times each year for school breaks and the Easter holidays.

In another report, the price of imported goods rose by 1.7 percent in March, the biggest jump in 10 months.

The Labor Department said the spike in import prices was driven by a 9 percent rise in the cost of imported petroleum, the largest increase in this category in 11 months.